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WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on March 17, 2002, at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the second WrestleMania at that venue (following WrestleMania VI in 1990). The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name, as they re-branded to WWE later that year. The record-breaking attendance for the SkyDome of 68,237 grossed approximately $6.1 million CAD ($3.9 million USD). WrestleMania weekend also included WWF Fan Axxess at the Canadian National Exhibition's Automotive Building. The main event was between Chris Jericho and Triple H for the Undisputed WWF Championship, which Triple H won after a Pedigree. The main matches on the undercard included The Rock versus Hollywood Hogan in a match dubbed "Icon vs. Icon", Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Scott Hall, and Ric Flair versus The Undertaker in a no disqualification match. Storylines The main feud leading into WrestleMania X8 involved Triple H against the Undisputed WWF Champion Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho defeated The Rock to retain the Undisputed WWF Championship on the same event where Triple H earned his opportunity to compete for the Undisputed WWF Championship at WrestleMania by winning the Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Kurt Angle. The following night on Raw, Triple H interrupted Jericho and warned to prove him that he's worthy enough to be in the main event. Meanwhile, some hostility between Triple H and his wife Stephanie was starting to show, with the face Triple H tired of Stephanie's heel characteristics. In order to recover their relationship, Stephanie suggested on Raw that the two should renew their wedding vows on the following week. At first Triple H refused, but Stephanie revealed that she was pregnant, making him change his mind. To further prove it, the two met a doctor on the next episode of SmackDown! with ultrasound images. On the February 11 episode of Raw just before the wedding, Triple H was met with a phone call by his mother-in-law Linda McMahon, who had sent him a video tape revealing that the doctor was in fact an actor and that Stephanie was not pregnant. At the wedding, Triple H turned on Stephanie and attacked her along with her father Mr. McMahon, saying that their marriage was now over. During these weeks, Kurt Angle was given a match with Triple H's WrestleMania title shot on the line at No Way Out. In revenge for the ruined wedding, Mr. McMahon granted Stephanie the chance to be the special guest referee for the match. At No Way Out, with clear bias from Stephanie, Angle defeated Triple H for the title shot. The following night on Raw, WWF co-owner Ric Flair granted Triple H a rematch with Stephanie barred from the ring, enabling him to regain his title shot at Chris Jericho. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown!, Jericho met with Stephanie and put their differences in the past, ending with Stephanie accepting Jericho's proposal to be his new business partner. To further the feud, Jericho later speculated that he ended the marriage by causing Triple H's quadriceps muscle to (legit) tear during their WWF Tag Team Championship match on the May 21, 2001 episode of Raw Is War, thus diverting Triple H's attention to his wife. Under the divorce settlement for the two, the assets would be split between them "fifty-fifty" to Stephanie's disgust. Among the assets were Triple H's first wrestling robe, Stephanie's Corvette (which Triple H later gave to her with half of it cut off) and Triple H's bulldog Lucy. Stephanie managed to win Lucy in the settlement and later on the March 11 episode of Raw sent Jericho to walk the dog. Displeased about this, Jericho tied Lucy to a limousine and ordered the unknowing driver to buy some air fresheners, running Lucy over into a critical condition by accident. Wanting retribution, Triple H stormed into the arena and tried to attack Stephanie, but he was met with two sledgehammer shots to his recovered leg by Jericho. On the following episode of SmackDown!, Stephanie noted that the sledgehammer shots had left Triple H's quad in a condition that one false move in his WrestleMania match could re-injure his quadriceps once again. At the end of the show, Triple H and Jericho had a brawl in the ring that almost ended with a Pedigree on Stephanie. However, Jericho saved her and locked the Walls of Jericho on Triple H, leaving the show with the advantage. Aftermath After WrestleMania, the WWF board of directors made their final decision over the control of the company. Due to the conflicts between Mr. McMahon and Ric Flair making bad business, Linda McMahon proposed a brand extension, essentially splitting the entire WWF roster into two separate entities, named after their two major television shows, Raw and SmackDown!. Vince took control of the SmackDown! brand while Flair controlled the Raw brand. A draft was held with each owner would get a total of thirty picks between the wrestlers. The draft was held on the March 25 episode of Raw, while the brand extension officially began on April 1. Triple H's feud with Stephanie would conclude on the March 25 episode of Raw when he defeated her and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match for the Undisputed WWF Championship. By pinning her, Stephanie was forced to leave the WWF by accordance to the match stipulations. Triple H's feud with Jericho would continue with Jericho and The Undertaker interfering with Triple H's championship match at Backlash against Hollywood Hulk Hogan and costing him the Undisputed WWF Championship. Their feud would finish with a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day and at King of the Ring. Until the brand extension separated both parties, The Rock and Hollywood Hogan feuded with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. On the final SmackDown! before the brand extension, the team of Rock, Hogan and Kane defeated Nash, Hall and new nWo member X-Pac in a six-man tag match. The Rock left shortly after the WWF draft for three months to go on a media tour to promote his movie, The Scorpion King. Stone Cold Steve Austin no showed the following two weeks, claiming to be burned out. When he returned, on the April 1 episode of Raw, the show was centered on which brand he would choose. Both McMahon and Flair would attempt to win his signature, with Austin eventually choosing the Raw brand. After being drafted to Raw, Austin would get himself involved in the feud between The Undertaker and Ric Flair, fighting Undertaker at Backlash for an Undisputed WWF Championship shot, which he would lose. The storyline itself evolved into a feud between Austin and Flair, with the nWo's involvement on Flair's behalf. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * WrestleMania Category:WrestleMania Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2002 Pay-Per-View Events